Method and system for collecting data on the internet

ABSTRACT

A method and system for using a computer to gather information of an end user&#39;s visits to web pages and the duration and date of each visit, and then pairing this data with the user&#39;s demographic data. The method and system include the steps of monitoring the web pages the end user visits; recording the duration and date of each visit to a web page; and saving the recorded information in the end user&#39;s computer. The method and system further include the steps of providing a data processing computer for storing demographic data of the end user; storing the end user&#39;s demographic data in the data processing computer; uploading upon selective operation by the end user&#39;s computer in one direction from the end user&#39;s computer to the data processing computer, the duration and date of visit information saved to the end user&#39;s computer; matching the information uploaded with the end user&#39;s demographic data; collating based on the end user&#39;s demographic information, the information resulting from the previous step, and saving this information in the data processing computer. The above steps are then repeated for more than one end user.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and system for collecting andrecording information over the Internet and then combining thatinformation with an end user's demographic information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Nielsen ratings have long been a stable means to gauge the nationalmarket impact of advertising on television. More often than not, websites use a simple “hits” metric. A “hit” indicates how many times a webpage has been accessed, but not by whom. Many web sites also compromiseprivacy by recording people's Internet data such as their web Internetaddress, after which the person may receive unsolicited junk mail oradvertising (e.g. “spamming”). This data is also used for marketingpurposes by other companies, which raises privacy concerns.

The World Wide Web (WWW) is a system of Internet servers that supportspecially formatted documents, and is a packet based communicationsnetwork. The documents are formatted in a language called Hyper TextMarkup Language (HTML). Users access the WWW, for example, via personalcomputers (PC) or workstations running web browsers. Web browsers aresoftware applications used to locate web pages and allow a user tographically display pages of a web site or document. Examples of webbrowsers are Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape's Navigator. Inorder to connect a web site to the World Wide Web, a user such as acorporation wishing to have an web site, pays a fee to a domain nameregistration company (such as the Internet Corporation for AssignedNames and Numbers (ICANN)) and the domain name registration companyassigns an address to the user. This address is guaranteed to be unique.This World Wide Web address is called a Universal Resource Locator(URL). The URL is a global address of documents and other resources onthe World Wide Web and defines a path to a data file on the user'scomputer. The data file is the user's web page. The URL of a web page ispaired with a textual name. For example, Lucent's World Wide Web addressfor the Mount Olive Product Realization Center web page iswww.mtt.lucent.com, which corresponds to the numerical value135.5.146.6.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is direct to a method and system for using acomputer to gather information of an end user's visits to web pages andthe duration and date of each visit, and then pairing this data with theuser's demographic data. The method and system includes the steps ofmonitoring the web pages the end user visits; recording the duration anddate of each visit to a web page; and saving the recorded information inthe end user's computer. The method and system further includes thesteps of providing a data processing computer for storing demographicdata of the end user; storing the end user's demographic data in thedata processing computer; uploading upon selective operation by the enduser's computer in one direction from the end user's computer to thedata processing computer, the duration and date of visit informationsaved to the end user's computer; matching the information uploaded withthe end user's demographic data; collating based on the end user'sdemographic information, the information resulting from the previousstep, and saving this information in the data processing computer. Theabove steps are then repeated for more than one end user.

The method according to the present invention accurately assesses who isvisiting various web pages by recording the URLs and then pairing thisdata with users' demographic data. The method according to the presentinvention is a voluntary and protects an individual's privacy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the system according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is printout of a typical prompt screen used to inform plug-insoftware according to the present invention, which user is using thesystem of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a user's personal computer for use in thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing use of plug-in software according tothe present invention to retrieve data of a user's visits to web pagesusing the system according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing use of plug-in software according tothe present invention to upload and store data to a data processingcomputer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a system for gathering data as towhich web pages an individual visits, the date of each visit, and theduration of time of each visit, while protecting the individual'sprivacy. The data is collected over time, transmitted to a dataprocessing computer and then combined with a user's demographic data.This combined data can then be collated based on each user's demographicprofile and saved to the data processing computer. The collated data maythen be sold, for example, to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) oradvertisers as a means to determine the effectiveness of their web pagesand any advertising displayed in the web pages. Above all, the methodaccording to the present invention is secure and voluntary. Preferably,a group of individuals would be statistically selected based ondemographics to participate in data collection.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the system according to the presentinvention. Plug-in software 10 is a software module that can beinstalled into a web browser 14 on a user's personal computer 12 to addadditional functional features. Plug-in software 10 monitors and recordsURL's as a user accesses web pages. Plug-in software 10 is designed torun on a web browsers and platforms, such as Microsoft's InternetExplorer®, UNIX® or LINUX. Plug-in software 10 also records the date ofeach web page visit, the duration of each visit, and some key wordstypical of the subject matter of each web page visited. This informationis then paired with the user's identification information using a user'suser identification codes (UIC) to ensure privacy. When a user starts aweb browser program 14 to access the Internet, the user is prompted toinform the URL monitoring plug-in software 10 under which user (such as“Mom,” “Dad,” or “Junior”) is using the system. An example of the promptscreen is shown below in FIG. 2.

Plug-in software 10 captures a web page URL by monitoring the transportcontrol protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) stack 16 on user's computer12. TCP/IP stack 16 sends and receives data over the Internet 31. When auser logs onto the Internet using web browser 14, plug-in software 10monitors the TCP/IP stack 16 to extract web page URL's. Plug-in software10 records URL address data by monitoring TCP/IP stack 16 for addressrelated packets, and then processing the address related packets asfollows. As packets are received from the top of TCP/IP stack 16, a copyof the packet is forwarded to plug-in software 10. The original packetis sent to its proper destination without any interruption oralteration. As most operating systems provide for multiple concurrentprocessing or multitasking, plug-in software 10 does not add any serialprocessing delays. Plug-in software 10 does not interfere with thebrowser's functionality.

Alternatively, software running in the background could also perform thesame functions as plug-in software 10, thereby further decoupling theweb browser from the function. Under this alternative, if plug-insoftware 10 is not used as an add-in module to user's web browser 14, analternative would be to create a background task stored on user'spersonal computer 12 to carry out the same functions as plug-in software10. A task running in the background allows the system to function asnormal, but the background task would be triggered by the event ofreceiving a packet from TCP/IP stack 16. The packet would be forwardedto the background task after web browser 14 has processed it. Thebackground task would then performs all the functions of plug-insoftware 10.

Another alternative to monitor and gather URL data is for the backgroundtask or plug-in software 10 to periodically monitor the cache of webbrowser 14. The cache stores images of web pages and web page addressesthat a user has visited. This allows the web page to be quicklyredisplayed by reading the web page from the user's local disk and notfrom the Internet. The background task of plug-in software 10 would thenscan the cache area for new URLs and perform the functions of plug-insoftware as described above.

Two relational databases in user's personal computer 12 are used torecord a user's data during each Internet session. The first relationaldatabase is a user identification database 18 which contains, forexample, each user's user identification code and logon name, asdescribed in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Field Name Description UIC User Identification Code, a 10 digitunique alpha-numeric character Logon Name Text displayed to allow theuser to identify themselves on the “Who You Are?” screen, preferably nota real name.

A user's UIC is unique to each user and is, for example, a ten digitalphanumeric identifier. A user's logon name is any text a user choosesas an on-line moniker (screen name). Preferably, the logon name is notthe user's real name.

User identification database 18 is protected via standard passwordencryption such as encryption methods available as part of any webbrowser, or more sophisticated encryption methods such as Pretty Good™Privacy, Data Encryption Standard (DES); or Rivest, Shamir, and Adelman(RSA) encryption. It is contemplated that an individual's personalinformation in the user identification database 18 will not betransmitted to web page providers or Internet service providers. Onlythe UIC would be transmitted along with the URLs stored. The UIC offerscomplete privacy by not associating any personal or private informationin the data transferred. Preferably, user identification database 18 isstored in personal computer 12 in a compressed, encrypted form.

The second relational database is URL log-UIC database 20 which holdsrecords of which web pages a user has visited, the date of each visit,and the duration of each visit, matched with the user's useridentification code. URL log-UIC database 20 typically includes thefollowing fields.

TABLE 2 Field Name Description UIC User Identification Code, a 10 digitunique alpha-numeric character URL numeric (e.g., 134.5.56) address ofweb site Date mm/dd/yyyy, Y2K complaint date Time Start 24 hour timewhen the user started to access a web site Time End 24 hour time whenthe user left the web site Site Classification Based on a scan for keywords, each web site will be classified as sports, entertainment, news,etc.

URL log-UIC database 20 has a key which ensures that only one occurrenceof each web page for a given time and data has been stored. In this way,the URL log-UIC database 20 can index data stored therein. The keyincludes the UIC, URL, Date and Time Start fields. Once a URL is addedto URL log-UIC database 20 for a specific time and date, the same URLwould not be entered again if a user returns to the main web page afterselecting other options on the page. Also, by parsing the web pageaddress, it is possible to select only the main web page URL to besaved. One way of accomplishing this is to search for the delimiter ‘/’.Plug-in software 10 may also be configured to allow sub-pages of websites to be saved.

Key fields in Tables 1 and 2 are used to retrieve and relate informationin each of the databases and with other databases. For example, the useridentification code is a key field in Tables 1 and 2 used to relate aparticular user of the system with the data for the particular user inURL log-UIC database 20, and to retrieve unique records stored in URLLog-UIC database 20. URL log-UIC database 20 is protected by standardpassword encryption as discussed above. Data in URL log-UIC database 20is not automatically transmitted from personal computer 12 unless theuser chooses to do so.

At regular time intervals, for example once a month, a user will beprompted by plug-in software 10 to voluntarily access a web page at adata processing center 22 web site to upload the contents of URL log-UICdatabase 20 to the data processing center. Data in this database istransmitted utilizing robust encryption methods such as Pretty Good™Privacy (PGP); Data Encryption Standard (DES); or Rivest, Shamir, andAdelman (RSA) encryption. For example, if PGP is used, the user'scomputer encrypts contents of the UIC database 20, enters the public keyof the data processing center 22 and then transmits the encoded data todata processing center 22. At center 22, the private key is then used todecode the data. Data processing center 22 receives data from URLlog-UIC database 20 and retrieves the user's full demographic data basedon the user's UIC, from global user demographic database 24. Global userdemographic database 24 holds demographic data for all users of thesystem and is stored in data processing center 22. Table 3 shows typicaldemographic data in global user demographic database 24. Users'demographic data is supplied off-line to data processing center 22 forinput to global user demographic database 24, for example, during aregistration process over the telephone or by conventional mail. One orboth of the UIC and logon name in the URL LOG-UIC database 20 are thenused to match the information in that database with a users demographicdata in global user demographic database 24.

TABLE 3 Field Name Description UIC User Identification Code, a 10 digitunique alpha-numeric character Logon Name Text displayed to allow theuser to identify themselves on the “Who You Are?” screen, not a realname. Age xxx Sex M/F Ethnic Background e.g., Caucasian, AfricanAmerican, etc. Physical Disabilities e.g., blind, hearing State FFCountry NN Zip Code +4 Identifies town Town Name Toledo, Ohio; Scranton,PA PC Type Manufacturer, mode codes ISP Internet Service Provider

Data processing center 22 then collates the received data and saves itin global URL-demographic database 26. Global URL-demographic database26 receives and holds all users' data for web pages visited, date ofeach visit, and duration of each visit for all users, combined with allusers' demographic data from global user demographic database 24. GlobalURL-demographic database 26 receives data from other users throughoutthe world, and then organizes the data according to users' demographicprofiles. Data typically is transmitted from the personal computer 12 todata processing center 22 using modems 28 a and 28 b or similarcommunications hardware, through one or more Internet Service Providers30 a and 30 b, over the Internet 31.

Data sets in global URL-demographic database 26 could be sold to ownersof web pages, Internet Service Providers, and advertisers. Usersvoluntarily subscribe to this service and are compensated by the companyowning Data Processing Center 22 with cash, in kind services, or throughdiscounts such as reduced rate internet access. The system according tothe present invention allows only one way communication flow from theend user's personal computer 12 to data processing center 22, andrequires no user intervention or modification of existing web sites. Themain goal is to provide a means to gauge the effectiveness of a web pageby measuring who is accessing a particular site, and for how long. Theusers receive no feedback from using the mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a high-level block diagram describing the system shown inFIG. 1. A user's computer or workstation 12 includes user Internetaccess terminal 32 (e.g., a personal computer, workstation, etc.) anduser Internet access hardware 34 (e.g., modem or intranet card). UserInternet access hardware 34 is connected to Internet service provider(ISP) 30 a via communications hardware such as modem 28 a. The useraccesses various web pages such as web page A (identified by referencenumeral 36) having corresponding URL number xx.xxx.xxx or web page B(identified by reference numeral 38) having corresponding URL numberyy.yyy.yyy. After installing plug-in software 10, the user is promptedto inform the system which user profile held in user identificationdatabase 18 to use for the upcoming Internet session.

The user then starts web browser 14 (see FIG. 1) in access terminal 32to access and view web pages 36 and 38. Web browser 14 interacts withplug-in software 10 allowing plug-in software 10 to monitor and collectURL addresses visited, date of visits, and duration of time each webpage is visited, and saves this information under the user's useridentification code (UIC) in URL-log UIC database 20. As explained morefully below with respect to FIG. 5, plug in software 10 also collectsand saves key words which describe the nature of each web site visited.URLS, date of visit, and duration of visit data is collected as plug-insoftware 10 in user's personal computer 12 monitors the transportcontrol protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) stack 16, preferably usingfunction calls of toolkit software. TCP/IP stack 16 preferably islocated between the operating system 60 and web browser 14. The toolkitsoftware is a third party product that allows developers to createplug-in modules such as plug-in software 10. The toolkit would create anexecutable module, linking in various libraries for functionality. Thelibraries are collections of distributable object code. The toolkittypically will not reside on end user's personal computer 12. Rather, itwill reside remote from user's personal computer 12.

Data collected by plug-in software 10 is then stored in URL log-UICdatabase 20 on a local drive in user's computer 12, protected bystandard encryption in a compressed form. URL-UIC database 20 hasbuilt-in password protection, which encrypts the data and requires apassword to view or modify the records in that database. For example,URL-UIC database 20 is encrypted in a ZIP format (Nico Mak Computing,Inc.). In addition, there are easily accessible software libraries whichmay be added to plug-in software 10 to incorporate compressiontechnology into the present invention. Saving the collected data in anencrypted, compressed form ensures a user's privacy, anonymity and lowdisk space storage requirements. Data in URL log-UIC database 20 is thenvoluntarily uploaded by the user over Internet 31 to a data processingcenter 22 using data processing center Internet access hardware 40. Thedata is then manipulated and collated using access terminal 42, asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 1. For example, data transferredfrom the user is matched and added to data from other users with similardemographic backgrounds. The demographic data may also be analyzed toidentify profiles for individuals visiting specific URL sites. Data mayalso be archived to be used for future analysis.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the components of a user's personalcomputer 12 used to access and interact with the Internet. Personalcomputer 12 includes video monitor 44, video driver 46, random accessmemory (RAM) 48, read only memory (ROM) 50, clock 52, central processingunit (CPU) 54, and data storage device 56 holding user configurationdata 58, user identification database 18, and URL log-UIC database 20.Personal computer 12 also includes operating system 60, Internet accessbrowser 14, and plug-in software 10. Plug-in software 10 interacts withbrowser 14 and stores data to data storage device 58, which as describedabove, includes user identification database 18 and URL LOG-UIC database20. Personal computer 12 accesses the Internet through communicationsport 62 and modem 28 a. A user interfaces with personal computer 12using a pointing device 64 (such as a mouse), and input device 66 (suchas a keyboard).

FIG. 5 is a flow chart diagram which shows the operation of plug-insoftware 10. At step 68, a user logs onto the Internet using his/herbrowser 14. At step 70, plug-in software 10 prompts the user for useridentification which includes the user's moniker (such as “Mom,” “Dad,”or “Junior”) and is linked to the user's user identification code. Eachuser is assigned, for example, a unique 10 digit alphanumeric code whichis linked to their user moniker. A typical identification page is shownin FIG. 2 and allows the user to identify him/herself to the systemprior to the start of each Internet session. At step 72, the useraccesses a web page. For example, if the user accesses Lucent's MountOlive Product Realization Center through web page URL addresswww.mtt.lucent.com, plug-in software 10 retrieves corresponding URLnumerical value 135.5.146.6.

At step 74, plug-in software 10 monitors the TCP/IP stack 16 andretrieves data regarding each URL visited, the date of each visit, andthe start time and end time of each visit. Plug in software 10 scans thedata file for the web page to identify several key words from the textof the web page. Insignificant words such as “the,” “and,” and “or” areignored and more significant words that occur more than a thresholdnumber of times on the page are extracted as the key words. These keywords are then related to one another to generally classify the contentof the web page. For example, words ending in “ball” may indicate asports web page; multiple uses of “Hollywood” may indicate anentertainment web page, the term “Reuters” may indicate a business newsrelated web page. In this way, a high level subject matterclassification of a site is obtained. One way of accomplishing thisclassification is to distribute a list of words and classifications in adatabase on user's personal computer 12. The database is then scanned asan HTML page is opened, and if any words match, a classification isgenerated. Plug-in software 10 then saves this data, along with the URL,date of visit and duration of visit data in URL LOG-UIC database 20under the user's User Identification Code (UIC). The siteclassification, which may be a single word or abbreviation, would beadded to the URL log-UIC database 20. In step 78, if the user accesses anew web page, steps 74 and 76 are repeated. If the user does not accessa new web page in step 78, the system exits the user from the Internetin step 80.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the uploading of data in URL log-UICdatabase 20 collected in FIG. 5 to data processing center 22. A uservoluntarily uploads data in URL log-UIC database 20 by performing thefollowing steps. In step 82, a user logs onto the Internet using browser14. In step 84, plug-in software 10 prompts the user for the user's useridentification code (UIC) or user name. If a predetermined time period(for example, 30 days) has passed since the user last uploaded data todata processing center 22, plug-in software 10 in step 88 continues theuploading sequence. In step 88, plug-in software 10 directs the user toa controlled web site hosted by data processing center 22. If thepredetermined time period has not elapsed, step 86 discontinues theupload sequence and directs the user in step 90 to continue normaloperation of the steps in FIG. 5 until such predetermined time haspassed. Assuming the predetermined time has passed, in step 92, plug-insoftware 10 switches web browser 14 into a secure transfer mode. Securetransfer mode typically is indicated by a closed lock symbol at thebottom of a video monitor 44 and allows a user to upload data frompersonal computer 12 to data processing center 22 using encryptionsecurity. Examples of such encryption security include PGP, RSA, andDES. In step 94, plug-in software 10 uploads data from URL log-UICdatabase 20 to data processing center 22 for further processing asdescribed above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 3. After uploading data frompersonal computer 12 to data processing center 22, plug-in software 10in step 96 switches web browser 14 out of secure mode and normaloperation of the system described shown in FIG. 5 continues.

As described above, all communication between the user and DataProcessing Center 22 is in only one direction, that is, data travelsonly from the user to Data Processing Center 22. Data Processing Center22 never prompts an end user to upload any information and neverreceives any data unless the user voluntarily uploads the data. Therewards may then be distributed via paper gift certificates, electronicgift certificates, credit cards or allowing the user to select a giftfrom a rewards Web page.

Data collected in the methods of the present invention can be used bycompanies to judge the effectiveness of web pages, and to justify ratesfor advertising and/or to refine web page content. Also, the presentinvention does not require any special modifications to existing orfuture web pages. The method according to the present invention istransparent to the user except for the modem being tied up. For example,users could leave a modem on overnight and have data sent duringoff-hours.

The method according to the present invention has several safetyaspects. For example, (1) a user does not have to enter and transmitdemographic data over the Internet, (2) the method encrypts confidentialinformation, and (3) the method is voluntary and provides for datacollection at a user's personal computer and then voluntarily uploadingthe data at a later date to a data processing center.

The preceding description merely illustrates the principles of theinvention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the artwill be able to devise various arrangements which, although notexplicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of theinvention and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, allexamples and conditional language recited herein are principallyintended expressly to be only for pedagogical purposes to aid the readerin understanding the principles of the invention and the conceptscontributed by the inventors to furthering the art, and are to beconstrued as being without limitation to such specifically recitedexamples and conditions. Moreover, all statements herein recitingprinciples, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well asspecific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural andfunctional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that suchequivalents include both currently known equivalents as well asequivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed thatperform the same function, regardless of structure.

As such, the present invention is not intended to be limited to thedetails shown. Rather, various modifications and additions may be madein the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claimsand without departing from the present invention.

1. A method for using a computer to gather information of an end user'svisits to web pages and a duration of each visit, the method comprisingthe steps of: (a) monitoring the web pages the end user visits; (b)recording the duration and date of each visit monitored in said step(a); (c) saving information recorded in said step (b) in the end user'scomputer; (d) acquiring the end user's consent to upload savedinformation; and (e) uploading saved information upon selectiveoperation by the end user from the end user's computer to a dataprocessing computer, the information saved to the end user's computer insaid step (c).
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the stepsof: classifying a subject matter of each web page visited; and recordingthe subject matter in step (b).
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theinformation saved in step (c) is compressed and encrypted.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein the information saved in said step (c) is storedunder an end user's user identification code.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the user identification code is an alpha-numeric character. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the step of uploading saved informationupon selective operation by the end user further comprises: requestingthe end user to upload the saved information upon expiration of a userdefined time interval, the saved information further including URLs theuser has previously visited and the duration of time the user has spentvisiting these URLs; selecting to upload the saved information;prompting the end user for his or her user identification code or username; inputting the end user information on the end user's computer; anduploading the user identification code and the saved information to adata processing computer without receiving any information from the dataprocessing computer to be displayed to the end user.
 7. The method ofclaim 6 further comprising the step: rewarding the end user for choosingto upload the saved information.
 8. A computer connected to the Internetfor gathering information as to which web pages an end user visits, thedate of each visit, and the duration of each visit, the end uservisiting web pages through a web browser, the system comprising: a userinterface; a processor for running program code to monitor informationfrom the web pages visited by the web browser, the monitored informationincluding URLs visited by the end user and the duration of time spentvisiting these URLs; and a first user database for storing the monitoredinformation, said processor saving the monitored information to saidfirst user database, said processor operating to periodically requestthe user at the expiration of a predefined time interval to consent touploading the monitored information to a data processing computerthrough the Internet, said user interface displaying the periodicrequests to the user.
 9. The computer of claim 8 wherein monitoredinformation is paired with an end user's user identification code. 10.The computer of claim 8 wherein the processor passively monitors aTCP/IP stack protocol to retrieve the monitored information.
 11. Thecomputer of claim 8 wherein the processor monitors the web browser cacheto retrieve the monitored information.
 12. The computer of claim 8wherein the monitored information is compressed and encrypted beforebeing uploaded.
 13. The computer of claim 8 further comprising: a seconddatabase for storing user identification information including a useridentification code, said user identification code being used as a keyto relate corresponding monitored information in the first user databasewith the user identification information.
 14. A data system accessedthrough the Internet for processing end users' Internet visits to webpages and the duration of these visits, the system comprising: a firstdatabase storing user demographic information, said first databasepopulated with user demographic information off-line and with end users'consent; a processor for receiving uploaded monitored information froman end user's computer, said monitored information including the URLsvisited by end users and the duration of time spent visiting these URLs,said monitored information being received after acquiring consent toupload said monitored information from an end user, said processororganizing the received monitored information according to userdemographic information stored in said first database; and a seconddatabase for storing the organized information.
 15. The data system ofclaim 14, wherein the processor is operative to receive monitoredinformation without transmitting any information which would bedisplayed to an end user.
 16. The data system of claim 14 wherein thedemographic information and the monitored information include an enduser identification code for matching monitored information withdemographic information.
 17. The data system of claim 14 wherein thedemographic information comprises the end user's age, sex, ethnicity,nationality, physical disability, and address.
 18. A method for using adata processing system for processing end users' Internet visits to webpages and the duration of these visits, the method comprising the stepsof: (a) storing end users' demographic data in a first database of thedata processing computer; (b) receiving uploaded monitored informationfrom an end user's computer wherein said monitored information includingthe URLs visited by end users and the duration of time spent visitingthese URLs, said monitored information being received after acquiringconsent to upload said monitored information from an end user; (c)matching the monitored information with the stored end user information;and (d) organizing the received monitored information according to thestored end user demographic data, (e) repeating steps (b) to (d) formore than one end user.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein in saidmatching step comprises the step of: comparing an end useridentification code stored with the end user information with an enduser identification code carried in the uploaded monitored information.20. The method of claim 18 wherein end users' demographic data comprisesan end user's age, sex, ethnicity, nationality, physical disability, andaddress.